Bentall Surgery

When disease affects not just the aortic valve but the root and first segment of the aorta itself — an aneurysm, a dissection, severe regurgitation, or the weakened aortic wall of Marfan syndrome — replacing the valve alone is not enough. The Bentall operation replaces valve, root and ascending aorta as one composite graft, and re-implants the coronary arteries into it.

What the operation involves

It is open-heart surgery under general anaesthetic, typically around five hours, with the heart-lung machine running while the diseased segment is removed, the graft sewn in, the coronary arteries re-joined and the new valve tested before closing. It is major surgery performed by teams who do aortic work regularly — a fair question to ask any hospital is how often theirs does.

Recovery and what to expect

The first days are spent in intensive care. Activity builds gradually: driving returns at roughly three to eight weeks, everyday life at around two months, and strenuous exercise waits about twelve weeks. Most Bentall grafts carry a mechanical valve, which means daily anticoagulation for life with regular blood tests — a commitment to understand fully before, not after, the operation.

Before you agree to anything

Ask whether your valve could be spared (valve-sparing root replacement exists for some anatomies), which valve the graft will carry and why, and what imaging follow-up your aorta will need in the years ahead. A surgeon who has seen your CT scan can answer all three, and we put the questions to them in writing.

What we arrange around it

This is the longest recovery in cardiac surgery's common repertoire, so we plan roughly four weeks in-country, a companion throughout, accommodation near the hospital, and the pre-flight surgical review — and we make sure your anticoagulation monitoring is arranged at home before you leave.